Over And Over
by ladydelirium
Summary: My first fanfic. BobbyJohn SLASH warning for language and sex. Post X3 The Xmen want to give Pyro the Cure but Bobby has other ideas. Reviews are nice. CHAPTER TWO UP NOW.
1. Over And Over

**Warning: **This story contains swearing including the F-Word and boy!sex. If such things offend you do not read this.

**Over And Over**

'Fuck' seemed to be the best word to describe the situation St John Allerdyce currently found himself in. He'd woken up on a table in an all too familiar medical room. To say his head hurt would be an understatement, hell, to say his head felt like it had been run over by a mack truck would be an understatement. Apparently mutant terrorists didn't deserve morphine.

He decided his best plan of action was to get the fuck out of there, he tried to sit up and instantly changed his mind, best to let them think he was incapacitated for now.

xxxx

Bobby Drake sat in silence as he watched the other X-Men debate about what to do with Pyro. Hank wanted to hand him over to the government, Logan wanted to Cure him and Storm thought they should keep him there. Bobby felt that he probably should be contributing to the conversation that would probably decided the fate of his former...what had John been to him? Room mate? Friend?...Lover? What did John consider him?

The question sent Bobby's mind back to Alcatraz, where it had been living ever since they got back. How had he won? Bobby knew that if John had really wanted to kill him he'd be a pile of ashes right now. He'd looked pretty damn eager to fight Iceman when he'd approached him and Pyro had been winning, would've won. _You're in over you're head Bobby, maybe you should go back to school_. He remembered Pyro saying that to him, but Pyro would've called him Iceman. Maybe at the end of the battle, for a few seconds John had gained the upper hand in the constant internal conflict between John and Pyro, maybe that's why for a moment the flames had cooled slightly, giving Bobby the chance to ice up. Maybe...

"So that's it," Storm's voice brought Bobby back to reality "We're going to Cure him."

xxxx

John smirked to himself, his plan to act incapacitated by his injuries had worked. To a degree. The blue, furry guy he had seen at Alcatraz had come in and given him some pain killers. John could now shakily stand up and as far as he was concerned if he could stand up he could escape.

John began to stagger towards the door, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and not falling over. He'd finally reached his goal when the doors whooshed open and John walked into something solid causing him to lose the little balance he had, falling forward only to be caught by said solid object. John looked up and sighed "Oh fuck, it's you."

xxxx

Bobby knew going to see John wasn't a good idea, John wouldn't be exactly thrilled to see him, but he had to talk to him, he had to know why. It was highly unlikely that John would tell him, but the delusional part of Bobby wanted Johnny to come running into his arms, which he did. Or more truthfully John, who apparently hadn't thought about the fact that the doors were locked, walked into him and Bobby had to catch him to stop him falling over and John's greeting wasn't exactly friendly. "Oh fuck, it's you."

"Um, hi." Bobby said lamely.

"What the fuck do you want Drake?" John asked after Bobby had helped him back to the table. John had struggled against him but they both knew it was just for show.

"I wanted to see how you were feeling after -"

"After you gave me a fucking concussion? Feeling guilty are we?"

"For stopping you? No." That was a lie, seeing how much damaged he'd done he did feel guilty."I just wanted to ask you..." Bobby's voice trailed off, he had no idea how to ask this.

John raised an eyebrow. "Ask me what, Popsicle?" Bobby was silent for a minute, still unsure what to say. Ever the impatient one John soon got irritated and snapped "Out with it Iceman, what the fuck do you want?"

"Still can't deal with uncomfortable silence huh?" Bobby said. John glared at him. "Why didn't you kill me at Alcatraz?" He said quickly.

John looked shocked for a moment then covered it with a sneer. "Because someone froze my lighters and knocked me out you prick."

"I meant why'd you let that happen."

"Fuck you." John said furiously, "Did you come down here to try and get me to admit that you're better than me?"

"No, John, I didn't mean -" Bobby quickly tried to explain himself.

"Go to hell Iceman!"

Bobby was grateful that John didn't have a lighter on him because if he did Bobby would be a smoking pile on the floor right now.

"Johnny, let me explain," he said desperately. John glared at him."Look, I know you John, I know how you fight and believe me, I know what you're capable of. You should've beaten me on Alcatraz, you should have killed me, but you held back. I want to know why."

"I didn't hold back a damn thing you bastard! You kicked my ass, but I was trying to fucking kill you, I wanted to kill you, so you can just fuck off and -"

"They're going to Cure you." Bobby said, stopping John's rant short. John froze.

"What?" He looked shocked and slightly afraid.

"They decided you're too much of a threat not to neutralize you but they don't want to turn you in."

"That's nice of them." John muttered.

"I'm sorry John." And he was, he knew how much John's power meant to him, knew that the Cure would destroy him.

John sighed. "Fuck off Drake." But it had no anger behind it, he sounded...resigned. It wasn't like John to give up so easily, Bobby looked back at him as he left the room and made up his mind about what he had to do.

xxxx

John lay stretched out on the table, mutant terrorists didn't get beds either it seemed, he tried to think of a half decent plan but was failing miserably. After establishing that the door was in fact locked John'd had a minor tantrum, kicking the door, screaming abuse at anyone who might've been listening and throwing every object in sight at something else. At the end all he accomplished was a trashed room and his headache was worse. John had considered everything from threatening to kill himself to actually killing himself to trying to escape when the doors opened when they came to do it. However none of these plans seemed likely to work to his advantage. He wondered what they were going to do with him after he'd been raped of his power, maybe they'd just let him leave. He could track down Magneto and Mystique and they could all be one big, happy, human family. He laughed out loud at that and wondered if he was going insane. Part of him hoped he was, it might be easier to live without the fire if he was crazy. Maybe they'd let him use his powers one last time before they did it, the same way inmates on Death Row get a last meal. He didn't think they would considering that if he was given a flame right now he'd burn this place and everyone in it to the ground. God he hoped he went crazy. Then he heard the familiar whoosh of the doors, John sighed "I guess this is it."

xxxx

Bobby slammed his bedroom door behind him. He had just spent the past hour arguing with Storm about giving the Cure to John. She'd looked so exhausted Bobby felt bad about adding to her stress but he had to try talking her out of it. He'd failed to convince her but he'd expected to really. Bobby knew he had no choice but to do this but he couldn't help feeling like he was betraying everyone. He finished throwing clothes into his duffel bag and tossed it over his shoulder. He silently slipped out of his room and thankfully didn't run into anyone on his way down to the med room.

"Get up."

"What the -" John started as he stared at his visitor.

"Get up, we're leaving." Bobby walked over to him and practically dragged John off the table and out the door.

"Drake, what the fuck are you doing?" John asked as they stood in the elevator.

"Shut up." Bobby replied. "If we get caught you're screwed."

This made sense so John obeyed and remained silent as they made their way to the garage, Bobby half dragging half carrying John as he was still having trouble walking. John soon found himself being pushed into the passenger seat of a Ford. "Whose fucking car is this?" He asked smirking.

"Mine." Bobby replied sounding vaguely annoyed.

John laughed "Your car's a piece of shit." Bobby glared at him in response.

"If you're too good for my car I can always leave you here to get Cured." He offered. John shook his head. "Good then shut up"

John succeeded in being quiet for about five minutes as Bobby drove away from the Institute, the place he called home and the people he considered his family.

"Where're we going?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, not really." John started fidgeting with everything in sight, he wished he had a lighter, he needed the fire very badly right now.

Bobby watched John's attempt to find something to do with his hands, Bobby could give him something to play with. He smiled at that but now was not the time and John would probably object. Besides it wasn't a good idea to even think about going there again, not yet at least.

"I'm not giving you a lighter, so don't even ask." Bobby said. John rolled his eyes and continued fiddling with the radio in an attempt to find a decent station. Finally settling on a rock station John leaned back in the seat, he looked pale and tired.

"How're you feeling?" Bobby asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

"I feel great Drake." John said and Bobby wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

xxxx

They kept driving for two weeks straight, stopping only for gas or to sleep in shit-hole motels in the middle of nowhere. Every time John asked Bobby where their money was coming from Bobby would just say it was his savings. Every time Bobby asked John to tell him to truth about Alcatraz John told him to shut the fuck up then wouldn't speak to him for an hour or so. When John finally reached the point that he could walk a straight line with out falling over Bobby insisted on handcuffing him at night.

"Are you fucking serious?" John said when Bobby first produced the handcuffs.

"Damn right I am." Bobby said snapping it into place around Johns wrist then attaching the cuffs to the headboard.

"Did you just save me from the X-Men so you could tie me up and take advantage of me?" John asked with a smirk.

Bobby sighed, he knew he had this coming but it was still annoying. "Yes John, this was my plan all along."

"Ah, what the fuck!?" Bobby woke up with John sitting on his bed staring at him. He smirked and held up the handcuffs.

"Just proving a point." John said looking smug. "You know I can pick locks Drake, you've seen me do it often enough."

Bobby looked slightly embarrassed and more than slightly pissed off. John had considered putting the cuffs on Bobby while he was asleep and honestly he probably would have if Bobby had woken up a few minutes later.

"Now you see that I can be free and not run away I think maybe you should try giving me a little trust here." John began."You need to realize that if I was going to leave, I would have by now."

"John, I know where this is going and I'm not giving you a lighter." Bobby interrupted. John had been trying to acquire a lighter since the night they left but as fast as he stole them Bobby found them and threw them away. John honestly didn't see the point in Bobby stopping him being Cured and then refusing to let him use his powers.

"Fuck you Bobby! Everywhere we go there are people smoking, if I was going to do anything I could easily just pull a flame off any of them." John was pissed off now, he paced back and fourth across the room. Bobby just sat on the bed watching John's rant looking thoughtful.

"OK." He said. John stopped pacing and looked at him. "I'll give you a lighter when you tell me what happened at Alcatraz."

John stared at him for a moment before answering. "You're still going on about that? Christ Bobby, just forget it."

xxxx

_Flick flick flick_

John lay sprawled on his bed in their latest motel room taking advantage of Bobby's absence and playing with the latest lighter he had stolen off the counter when they had checked in. He'd inconspicuously slipped it into his pocket and done nothing to make Bobby suspect anything. Bobby had gone to pick up some food, finally having realized that John wasn't going to run off somewhere. John drew the flame away from the cheap plastic lighter and into his hand and fuck it felt good. He gently manipulated the fire into different shapes, savouring the way it felt as he ran the flame over his skin. He was so caught up in his reverie that he didn't hear the door open. The flame in his hand froze, leaving John holding a ball of ice. He looked up and saw Bobby standing in the doorway then threw the ice-ball at him hard. Bobby ducked and the ice shattered against the wall.

"John -" Bobby started but was cut off as John slammed him into the wall.

"You fucking asshole!" John yelled at him, "You know I need this!" He tried to punch Bobby in the face but the ice mutant dodged his fist and used the momentum to reverse their positions, pinning John's arms behind his back and holding him against the wall.

"John, calm down." Bobby hissed in his ear twisting his arm painfully as John continued to struggle.

"Why the hell did you bother stopping the leather brigade if you won't let me use my powers!" John shouted bucking against Bobby in an attempt to dislodge him.

"I just want to know I can trust you." Bobby slammed roughly against him and despite all his rage John couldn't help noticing that Bobby was hard.

"You'll never know if you don't give me a chance to show you." John arched back against Bobby as they both became increasingly aroused by the situation.

Bobby didn't answer him just increased the pressure holding John against the wall, moaning slightly as his cock pressed against John's ass. Bobby roughly pulled John around so he was facing him before slamming him back into the wall, kissing John's full lips with great abandon, practically tearing John's shirt off while John removed Bobby's. When Bobby pulled away John grinned at him,

"I knew you wanted to take advantage of me."

"You don't seem to be complaining." Bobby murmured whilst removing John's jeans and then his own, grinding their boxer clad erections together."What do you want John?" Bobby asked him then lent down and kissed his neck.

"I want you," John moaned loudly as Bobby bit down on the exposed flesh of his neck.

"What do you want me to do?" Bobby's breath was cool against his chest, cold tongue teasing his nipples.

"Fuck me" John panted, "I want you to fuck me."

xxxx

Bobby bit his nipple, hard. John arched his back against the wall as Bobby freed him of his boxers. He cried out as one of Bobby's fingers was pushed into his ass, soon joined by another. It'd been a while since John had done this and it took him a few moments for his body to adjust to the invasion but as Bobby's fingers began moving against his prostate John thought he was going to come before Bobby even entered him. But then the fingers pulled out and he saw Bobby lube up his cock, before John had a chance to ask Bobby where the lube came from Bobby had tossed him onto the bed so he landed on his back and he could feel Bobby's slick cock pressing against his entrance before slamming in hard making John's vision blur and causing him to moan loudly. Bobby thrust in again and this time John raised his hips to meet him. Bobby lent down for kiss sucking on John's bottom lip as he pulled away. He gasped when John's teeth sank into his shoulder. With a final, nerve searing thrust Bobby came inside him and John followed with a loud moan. Bobby pulled out and rolled off of John, grabbing a few tissues from the box beside the bed, they cleaned themselves up as best they could then lay silently, limbs entangled with John's head resting on Bobby's chest.

xxxx

Bobby was almost asleep when he heard John whisper something so softly he couldn't hear it. He raised his head to look at John, who was purposefully looking anywhere but at Bobby.

"What did you say?" Bobby murmured. John looked extremely uncomfortable, glancing at him nervously then looking quickly away.

"I said I still love you." He said so fast it was almost incoherent. Bobby looked shocked. John sighed and sat up. "That's why I didn't kill you on Alcatraz, I couldn't."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Bobby asked gently.

"Because I didn't think you'd care, because I thought you'd chose her again."

"You left me." Bobby said.

"Because you chose her." And finally, after over a year of wondering Bobby finally understood why John had left at Alkali Lake, because Bobby hadn't cared enough to stop him.

"I'm choosing you now." He said pulling John down and kissing him deeply. John pulled away after a few moments and grinned at him.

"Now you have to give me a lighter."

xxxx

Eventually it became clear that either the X-Men weren't trying to find them or that without Jean or Xavier to operate Cerebro they weren't able to find them. They started staying in one place for longer periods of time, sometimes getting jobs for a while now that Bobby's had started to run low. The first thing to change was that they never bothered getting a room with two beds anymore. Finally they took the plunge and moved into a small one bedroom apartment and each took full time jobs. Bobby had been amazed to see John actually willing commit to a place for longer than a few weeks. For the first time since Rogue arrived at the Institute they were happy together, for the first time since John left the Institute Bobby was happy.

xxxx

John had gone for a walk to the store for a packet of cigarettes. He didn't often smoke them but had found that they were the best way of keeping fire close to him without drawing attention to himself. He was walking up the stairs to the apartment fumbling in his pocket for his keys and trying to light a cigarette at the same time when a voice spoke behind him.

"You know those will kill you." John froze, dropping his keys, he knew that voice far too well, that was the voice that had told him he was a god.

John turned slowly and sure enough Magneto stood at the bottom of the stairs.

"Magneto." John said sounding shocked.

"It's good to see you too, Pyro." Magneto replied sounding amused. John took a step back as his keys floated up to him.

"You're -"

"Yes, it seems that the Cure is temporary." Magneto sneered at the word 'Cure'. He walked up the stairs until he was standing in front of John, even though he was a couple of steps down he was still taller that John.

"What're you doing here?" John still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing his former boss. Magneto raised an eyebrow,

"I thought that was obvious, I am reforming the Brotherhood." John took another step back. "Are you ready to return to your rightful place?"

"Um.."

"We need you Pyro." He had forgotten how it felt to be called be that name, his real name...

The door opened and Bobby came out onto the landing, "John? I thought I heard you out -" He stopped in his tracks upon seeing Magneto, who smiled at him.

"Ah Mr Drake, a pleasure to see you." Bobby glanced at John looking bewildered. "Now Pyro, tell me, have you made your decision? Are you going to rejoin me and help create a world where we can be free without being persecuted or are you going to hide in the shadow with the homosapiens?"

"John?" Bobby said, looking both confused and afraid. John kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I'm going Bobby." John said as he turned to follow Magneto. The unasked question hung in the air behind him.

_Are you going to let me go again?_


	2. World Without You

Thank you to all who reviewed the first chapter. There's going to be one more after this one.

* * *

_Are you going to let me go again?_

Bobby watched in shock as John turned away from him and followed Magneto down the stairs. He couldn't believe this was happening, was he really going to lose John again when they finally had their lives together?

"John!" Bobby finally regained basic motor functions and ran after his departing lover. John turned to face him looking surprised, as though he'd expected Bobby to just watch him go without saying a word to stop him, just like last time. "Don't go." That was what he wanted to say, what he should have said. Instead all he did was stand there in shock, staring after John's retreating form long after he was out of sight.

xxxx

John sat sprawled in the passenger seat of Magneto's SUV. He was vaguely aware that he should find the fact that Magneto had an SUV amusing, there was certainly something wrong with the fact that a notorious mutant terrorist drove the same car that a mother might use to drive her kids to soccer practice. John sighed and leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and tried not to think about the fact that he had possibly just made the biggest mistake of his life or that Bobby had - no, he wasn't going to think about Bobby, that could lead nowhere good. Magneto glanced at him, looking slightly...was that remorse? Sympathy?

"You made the right choice, Pyro." He said in what John thought was the closest to comforting as Magneto ever got. John just nodded and tried to look sure of himself, it was frighteningly similar to when he had first joined the Brotherhood and was trying to act as though he ran off to join terrorist organisations everyday and this was nothing new when really he had been terrified and wishing that Bobby was with him. John -no he was Pyro again now, Pyro smirked slightly and thought that maybe he hadn't changed so much after all.

xxxx

Eventually Bobby ventured back into the apartment after receiving odd looks from several neighbours and realizing that the temperature in the hallway had dropped considerably since John's departure. He sank down on the couch and looked around the room. Everything still looked the same as it had before, the plates were still sitting there waiting to be washed and John's clothes were still strewn everywhere, but nothing felt the same. Bobby stood up, "Fuck it." He muttered to himself as he started for the door kicking over a chair that dared to get in his way. He stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

xxxx

Pyro shifted uncomfortably, Mystique's penetrating gaze never failed to make him nervous, plus he was still feeling a little guilty about abandoning her naked on the floor of the truck when she got cured and he suspected that she wasn't entirely over it either. He wondered how Magneto had convinced her to come back to the Brotherhood, Pyro had thought she would've been out for blood after that betrayal but he wasn't about to bring it up by asking questions that she probably wouldn't answer anyway. He contented himself with flicking his lighter on and off, playing with the flames.He became quickly mesmerized by the comforting fire.

xxxx

Bobby stood outside for twenty minutes before he could bring himself to knock, although they had to know that he was there given that someone must have opened the gates for him. When Storm opened the door he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, there's no way that she wasn't going to be pissed off at him for abandoning them in the after shock of Alcatraz and of course for breaking out and escaping with one of their enemies. But instead of yelling at him she pulled him into a hug.

"It's good to see you Bobby." She said as they parted. Bobby just nodded and followed her inside.

"So, I hear you've been shacked up with an X-Man." Mystique's voice broke through Pyro's concentration on the flames making him jump, as no doubt she had intended.

"Former X-Man." Pyro said evenly, determined not to show any emotion whilst talking about this in the hope that she wouldn't start fucking with his head, although when it came to Mystique he sometimes wondered if she knew how to hold a conversation any other way.

"He deserted for you." She said, not questioning just stating a fact. Pyro leaned back against the headboard of his motel bed and continued to keep up his neutral facade. "He left because he had a disagreement with them." She smirked at that in a manner that implied that she knew just what that disagreement had been about and Pyro resisted the urge to set her on fire. He it was an urge he always got when she looked at him in her way that suggested she knew everything that was going on in his head and she would use it against him anytime it suited her. She leaned towards him, looking directly into his eyes which signaled she was about to ask a question that either he couldn't answer or one that he wouldn't answer. "And what exactly made you decide to stop playing house with the enemy and come back in to the fold? Did you realise that you never really loved him after all?"

"Something like that." Pyro lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, pretending that neither of them knew the real answer.

xxxx

Bobby exited Xavier's office feeling as though he'd stepped into another dimension. Everything had been surreal since John had walked away from him with Magneto and after being introduced to Charles Xavier's new body Bobby was sure that he must be either dreaming or insane or maybe he just hoped he was. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with Rogue but there she was waiting for him as he entered the hall.He knew he really owed it to her listen, none of this was her fault but she looked like she had a lot she wanted to say to him and Bobby really didn't want to hear any of it, it would be nothing he hadn't already said to himself anyway. "Bobby!" She said loudly, he realizsed that she had been talking at him for a while. He looked at her wearily. "Rogue, I really don't want to talk about this now." Whatever this was that she'd been saying."I'm still a little bit freaked out after seeing the Professor back from the dead and all."

"If you hadn't taken off with Pyro you'd have known sooner." Her voice held all of her accusations against him in just that sentence. Bobby just looked at her for a moment then turned and walked away, thinking that the part of his mind that had told him he was an idiot for coming back here had been right, after all it was the same part that said expecting John to make him anything but miserable was naive. Maybe he should start listening to that voice.

xxxx

Pyro stood outside a nondescript brick building that, according to Magneto, was one of the new homes of the Cure. After Alcatraz Worthington had shut down all operations and washed his hands of the Cure, saying that he wasn't manufacturing anymore. Apparently the Government thought it was too valuable an asset to lose and had taken all remaining samples with plans to continue making it. Although mutant equality was being preached all over the country it was still far from being practiced, the military and the cops were allowed to use Cure weapons against any mutant perceived as a threat. Since the general public tended to perceive every mutant a threat and the cops seemed to agree with them mutants were being shot with it constantly. Magneto intended to stop that. John glanced around him to make sure no one was looking at him suspiciously. He sighed. Once he did this he'd be back on the X-Men's radar, he wasn't sure if they'd simply not been able to find him and Bobby or if they'd decided to let them go. Whatever it was it was over now, they'd know this was him. Bobby would know this was him.

xxxx

Why the hell did he come back here? What had he hoped this would accomplish? After the initial shock, no not shock he'd known this was coming, the initial _impact _of seeing the news report about the attack on the Government building Bobby had been having a hard time ignoring all the stares he was receiving and couldn't quite block out the way everyone was talking in whispers when he went past on his way back to Xavier's office. Seated in the room with Storm, Logan, Kitty, Rogue, Pete and the Professor it was almost like old times, if you didn't count the fact that the Professor was in a different body and Bobby felt like he was on a different side to everyone else. Because the facts were that although Bobby was hurt and pissed off that John had gone back to the Brotherhood, although Bobby felt partially responsible for any people that John had killed and even if he didn't think what Magneto, John and the Brotherhood were doing was right, he was no longer so sure that they were wrong.

xxxx

"Excellent work." Magneto commented as they watched the news footage of the smoking pile of rubble that was once a rather large building. Pyro just nodded in acknowledgement. He wondered how long it would be before the X-Men came after them, not long probably but then they wouldn't know where to look. His thoughts strayed back to Bobby despite all his attempts keep Bobby out of his mind. Had he seen the news report yet? Of course he had, it was all over the TV and newspapers. What was Bobby doing right now? Probably wishing that he'd let Pyro be Cured and got on with his life. Perhaps it would have been for the best.

xxxx

"We have reason to believe that the Brotherhood's next target will be this Cure research facility in the Nevada Desert, scientists there are working on creating a more permanent Cure and are holding several dangerous mutants." What reason? Bobby thought, did Xavier dig it out of some Brotherhood member's mind? Was Xavier reading his thoughts now? Looking for some clue left over from John that might tell them anything about Magneto's plans? It was amazing how after only a few months without being around telepaths resulted in a huge dose of paranoia the second you came back in contact with one. Why was he in this meeting anyway? It wasn't like he was still an X-Man, shouldn't they be pissed off and untrusting of him, maybe they were so under manned that they would take whatever was available, willing to forgive and forget in exchange for his help. Honestly he didn't really care, he was only half listening to their discussion about why these mutants deserved to be held prisoner, apparently most of them were former Brotherhood members who had escaped disintegration on Alcatraz but had ended up being caught and locked up under the Desert. It could have easily been John if Bobby hadn't carried to safety. Why bother stopping Magneto breaking them out, weren't the X-Men supposed to be helping mutants gain rights, not helping humans imprison them? Bobby was vaguely surprised at his own thoughts but at least now he knew for sure that he hadn't been wrong in leaving the X-Men, even if it hadn't been for John he was sure now that he would have left eventually. He no longer believed in Xavier's ideals, he didn't know how any of them could after facing the horrors of Alcatraz to protect humanity only to have humanity hate them possibly even more. The Professor looked at him sharply and Bobby knew he'd heard those thoughts. Xavier looked sad but didn't say anything to stop him when Bobby left. This time there would be no going back.

xxxx

Pyro hated the spaces in between missions. There was nothing worse than being stuck with nothing to do for days and having to keep a low profile, not to mention all the meetings with Magneto and Mystique where they went over the plan five million times. But the worst part was all the free time he had on his hands with nothing to do but watch TV and think. Thinking was something Pyro tried very hard not to do too much of these days because he was finding it extremely difficult to think about anything but Bobby Drake and how much he missed him and how much of a moron he was for leaving him for _this_. Brotherhood life wasn't as exciting as it used to be or at least it didn't seem it. And not being able to get laid after blowing up that building had left him extremely sexually frustrated, the horniness was doing nothing to decrease his missing of Bobby. Fuck it, he decided to risk the Wrath Of Magneto and leave the house that was currently their base of operations and get himself a pack of cigarettes, at least smoking gave him something to do.

xxxx

Bobby had no idea what he was going to do now. He'd just pretty much severed all ties to the Institute and the X-Men but he was surprised to find that he didn't regret it. He wasn't going to spend his life fighting for a race who hated him and if he'd stayed there chances were he'd end up dying for them. Bobby didn't want to be a martyr for someone else's cause. He decided that there wasn't much he could do but go home, head back to the apartment he and John had shared, try to explain why he hadn't been in to work and hope that he didn't get fired. It was weird thinking about such normal things again. Maybe that's what he needed now, a normal life. Without John.

xxxx

Pyro stood outside in the backyard of the safe house. His self-appointed mission to get smokes had been a success but he'd forgotten about Magneto's distaste for the smell of cigarette smoke in the house and had been sent outside. Pyro scowled, weren't the bad guys supposed to smoke? He didn't bring that up to Magneto of course, it would just result in another lecture about why they weren't the bad guys and he'd heard it too many times before. He finished his cigarette and rebelliously left the filter lying on the ground instead of putting it in the trash. He wandered back inside and wished like hell that he wasn't having so many seconds thoughts about his decision to come back to the Brotherhood. He had no regrets about leaving the first time, not really. At the time he believed that he was doing what was best and that was what mattered. This time around he wasn't so sure. He found that all he could think about was Bobby and how pissed off at him Bobby must be and how the X-Men were going to be after him again, fuck maybe Bobby was with them. He no longer believed that Magneto was all-powerful and if he got caught again he'd get locked away for the rest of his life and this time Bobby wouldn't save him. Even the good guys didn't believe in third chances.

xxxx

Looking around the apartment made Bobby feel incredibly lonely. Seeing John's stuff lying around where he'd left it and seeing the bed that still hadn't been made since the last night the two of them had slept in it together was all too much. Bobby wiped at his eyes angrily, trying to stop the hot tears that were building up there from spilling down his cheeks. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He stepped under the water and only then did he let the tears come as he sank to the floor. He sat on the tiled floor of the shower until long after the water ran cold, not that it ever really bothered him but he didn't even notice. It was amazing how much losing one person could hurt so much more than the lose of you're family and everyone you once considered a friend combined. Life without John was starting to seem like an impossibility. Bobby sighed and climbed to his feet, he wasn't going to stay here feeling sorry for himself. He decided then and there that since he'd already lost everything he may as well do whatever it took to get back the one person who meant everything to him now. It was time to find John.

xxxx

Nevada sucked. Or at least being stuck in yet another motel room which happened to be in Nevada sucked. They'd only been there for a few hours and Mystique was off doing reconnaissance on the place they were going to blow up. Pyro found himself getting impatient to just get on with the mission, at least he'd be doing _something_ and as far as he was concerned this place needed to be shut down. They were holding several mutants there, former members of the Brotherhood, and were using them as guinea pigs for their brand new and improved Cure. The plan was to bust out the prisoners then burn the place to the ground. It was pretty simple, though Magneto had used more words than that when he first explained it. Pyro looked up at the sound of the door opening, tensing briefly then relaxing when he saw the middle-aged woman Mystique had been posing as to acquire their room. She smiled dangerously and Magneto returned it. "Time to go."

xxxx

Bobby found himself wishing that he'd payed more attention to Xavier in that X-Men meeting. He was currently standing around in an airport in Nevada. He realized that this was really not a well thought out plan. He had no idea how the hell he was going to find John, or if John was even here. The Brotherhood didn't exactly advertise their location nor did secret government research facilities. He'd considered going back to the mansion saying that he'd changed his mind and wanted back on the team but had decided that lying to a powerful telepath might not be the best idea ever so here he was, alone and with no real idea where to go. He sighed and then went in search of a map, hoping like hell that he'd be able to remember the location of the base he'd seen on the map Xavier had shown them in the meeting. If he could figure out the general location then he'd just stake it out and try and get to John before he went in. But then again it might be easier to find if it was on fire.

xxxx

It was remarkable how easy it was to break into a secret Government base. Or at least how easy it was to do so when you were with a shapeshifter who could take out all the guards within about two minutes. Pyro had succeeded in his part of the mission, destroying all the scientist's files and experimentation's so far. He strolled out of the last lab, leaving it flaming behind him. This place would burn to the ground as soon as he, Magneto, Mystique and the prisoners they were freeing at this very moment were clear. Wandering down the corridor Pyro reminded himself to stay alert and he drew a small fire ball into his palm just in case. He heard footsteps coming from around the corner up head. It was most likely Magneto coming to check that Pyro had destroyed everything since Pyro doubted there were any humans left alive in this place after the initial assault. He might feel slightly guilty about that if he hadn't seen for himself what they'd been doing here. "This way!" He heard a female voice up ahead, one that definitely wasn't Mystique and he thought sounded horribly familiar. A hand came out of nowhere, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him roughly into what was apparently a supply closet. "What the fuck?!"

xxxx

Bobby hadn't made it to the base before the Brotherhood had entered, the corpse of a guard lying on the ground beside the destroyed razor-wire fence had led him to that conclusion. He had planned to wait outside and try to intercept John before they left. However the sight of the Black Bird touching down in the distance had destroyed that plan as he'd run inside, hoping that he'd get to John before they did. Running down a corridor he'd seen smoke, which had alerted him to the presence of John. He had also heard the sound of Storm's voice coming towards him and ducked threw the nearest door. Peering through a crack in the door he saw John heading towards his hiding spot, towards Storm and whoever was with her. He quickly threw the door open dragging John into the supply closet after him. John gave a startled "What the fuck?!" Bobby clamped his hand over John's mouth and hissed "Shut up." into his ear.

xxxx

Pyro stopped struggling at the sound of Bobby's voice in his ear. He stayed silent until the passing footsteps were well passed them then he pulled away from Bobby, spinning around to face him and tripping over a mop. They both froze for a moment, holding their breath in case anyone had been alerted by the noise. When no one ripped the door open John righted himself and turned to Bobby. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." John couldn't quite believe this was happening.

"Why? I mean, how'd you even know we were here?" Bobby opened the door slightly and peered out into the corridor.

"Maybe we should have this conversation when we're out of here." He suggested as he stepped out of the closet followed by John. They started down the hallway in the direction Storm had come from. John took the lead, heading towards the way he'd entered with Magneto and Mystique. Bobby fell into step beside him.

xxxx

Bobby had hoped that he and John would make it out of there without running into anyone, whether it be Magneto and the Brotherhood, the X-Men or any guards or employees that may have been left alive. It had been far too optimistic of him to really believe that they had a chance. As it happened they found themselves confronted by both the X-Men and the Brotherhood at once, as they rounded the corner Bobby heard John swear under his breath. He glanced around and realized that they'd wandered out into the middle ground of what was apparently a standoff between Magneto, Mystique with several other mutants who Bobby assumed to be the rescued prisoners and Storm and Wolverine. He wondered vaguely where Kitty and Pete were. Whatever had been about to happen between the two opposing groups was put on hold momentarily as everyone stared disbelievingly at the two of them. Bobby glanced nervously at John who had the look that he always got when he was cornered. The look that he'd had on the porch of Bobby's parents' house in Boston, the look that always meant someone was about to get burnt.

xxxx

Pyro flicked his zippo open, he hadn't gotten around to replacing his wrist lighters yet, he stepped forward, drawing a fire-ball into his hand. He took a step backwards as a stream of ice shot passed him. A wall of ice quickly formed in the hallway, cutting Storm and Logan off from the Brotherhood. John looked at Bobby in surprise then smirked. Bobby rolled his eyes. "Sorry to interrupt boys but I do think we should be going." John glanced at Magneto and nodded. They quickly exited the base and boarded the helicopter Mystique had set up for them to escape in. John tried not to stare at Bobby too much but he was trying to understand just what the hell was going on. Bobby turned his head, catching John studying his face. As much as John hated the silence he couldn't think of a thing to say. He held Bobby's gaze, neither of them breaking eye contact as Bobby slipped his hand into John's. They remained silent throughout the remainder of the flight.

xxxx

He couldn't believe he was in the Brotherhood getaway 'copter surrounded by the people he'd always thought of as the bad guys. He glanced around at the other passengers, most of them had just been liberated from a government prison where god knows what had been happening to them, they all looked weary and relieved, they weren't paying any attention to what appeared to be the newest member. He saw Magneto and Mystique exchange glances and he knew they were communicating in some kind of code known only to them. He thought that Magneto looked vaguely amused and he shifted uncomfortably when Mystique fixed her gaze on him. Mystique scared the crap out of him to be honest but he figured she had that effect on most people. Pointedly ignoring the shapeshifter's yellow eyed stare Bobby looked away from her and turned to look at John, who was also staring at him. When his eyes met John's Bobby knew he'd made the right decision.


End file.
